* Click here to see the 1963 Ford Thunderbird featured a while back as an East Coaster of the Day.This 1968 Ford Thunderbird is a two-door Landau coupe that was first ordered through Ford’s Charlotte, North Carolina sales district, and was recently acquired by the selling dealer from the family of its reported original owner. He looks the furthest thing from a retiree as he very boyishly states he’s content to just play with his cars now. Click here to view Season 21 Episode 21.Ĭhip Foose and Courtney Hanson have ooo-ed and aaaa-ed over it, too.Īfter driving city buses for more than three decades and even school buses for a while, Stephen says he’s retired. There, it caught the eye of Dennis Gage, host of My Classic Car, who filmed a walk-around of the tangerine orange pearl (with a hint of candy) stunner with Stephen. In 2017, Stephen flew the Thunderbird to Atlantic Nationals, the mega-show-and-shine that takes place in Moncton, New Brunswick every summer since 2001. A photo of the car in its original colour. Plenty of elbow grease went in to rid the car of mountains of the stuff, which did protect it. To protect it, Dad had covered the car in so many layers of protective tar. He’d kept the car where he worked down at the Halifax dockyards.

He acquired it from a guy whose Dad, the original owner, passed away. Stephen has owned the T’Bird for 18 years. The front end has been lowered and heavy duty shocks installed front and back. BEFORE: Here is the engine when Stephen bought the 1968 Ford Thunderbird.ĪFTER: And here is the engine after being painted… with very tiny brushes! With a 16th of an inch clearance on either side. He also put in headers, despite the pros telling him they would never fit. He painted the engine block in place… with very tiny brushes, he adds. Stephen tells us it’s the original engine, cleaned up. In 1968, new Thunder from the Bird came in the form of a 429 ci Thunder Jet V8 engine that pushed out 360 horsepower. Gene Winfield, the King of Kustoms, signed it. On the glove box, there are some serious signatures from heavy hitters in the custom, classic and modified car world who obviously agree with us. The interior looks almost as it would have looked 52 years ago on the showroom floor. Apparently straight-up shoe polish is the reason for its lustre. Whoa, that orange! We can tell Stephen Tanner loves his ’68 two-door Thunderbird.

68 t bird